A North Lanarkshire mum who 'smelled death' after her house became overrun with rats and giant slugs has been left 'gravely concerned' for the health of her two young kids.
Shelley Rock, from Moodiesburn, began smelling something odd in her property last week, with fears quickly growing it was to do with rodents she and neighbours had spotted scurrying down the communal lane that runs behind their homes during the summer.
Things quickly worsened on Friday when her six-year-old dog, Hugo, was rushed to an emergency vet appointment. Medics confirmed his extreme sickness and diarrhoea may have been due to ingesting rat droppings or urine.
As the stench got stronger, and with Shelley allegedly receiving little help from the council, she and her partner, Ross Harvie, 30, decided to take matter into their own hands on Sunday night. They burst the wall where the smell was coming from with a claw hammer.
Horrifyingly, a dead rat fell out the wall cavity - with the insulation saturated with rat urine and droppings. She is now terrified the pests have been slithering all over her children's clothes and cutlery.
The 31-year-old told the Record: "I work as a mortuary assistant so I know the smell of something decomposing. I immediately said to my partner, 'something has died in here'.
"The kids crawl about and pick up food off the floor and rats carry all sorts. If they pee in the house, that could lead to rabies or Lyme disease.
"If we hadn't burst a hole in the wall, the smell would've got worse and started attracting maggots. And if we hadn't got Hugo seen to promptly, god knows what would have happened.
"I can't see where the rats have been, they don't leave a visible trail. It makes me sick to think they've been all over our stuff - all over the kid's stuff and the worktops where we prepare food.
"Am I going to have to get up every morning and cover everything in bleach before I leave the house? If that rat was there, how many more are there?"
Shelley thinks the reason behind the infestation is due to issues with waste disposal in the neighbourhood. She first reported the issues to the council back in June, who sent Environmental Health out to lay a black trap box, but it was unsuccessful in catching them.
It is not the first time the family have had to put up with unwanted pests in the house. Over the last five years, giant slugs have wreaked havoc in the home, and are even believed to have been behind the tragic death of Shelley's 10-month-old pup, Storm, in June. Vets think the pup's cause of death was lung worm, a grave condition caught from slugs.
Petrified of losing another pet, Shelley immediately phoned the council's out of hours line to inform them of the most recent invasion, and that the smell was so overwhelming the family felt unable to stay in the property.
The woman was allegedly told by a council representative that 'unless her house was on fire, nobody would be able to come out until Tuesday'.
Shelley, who has lived on the street for 23 years, continued: "When I moved back in, I bleached the place from top to bottom and opened every window in the house to take the smell away, but it's still there.
"The kids have been staying at my mum's for the last few days and I'm keeping Hugo there for the next few weeks. I'm too scared to let him back in.
"We've been trying to deal with the issue ourselves and stop the rats coming through the wall cavity of the house by sealing it but somehow they're still getting in.
"I'm down to bare brickwork on the wall. I'm hoping the council are going to fix it but because I burst it open myself, they'll probably say I have to repair it. It's going to cost me hundreds of pounds. I fear for my children's wellbeing."
SNP Cllr Greg Lennon said North Lanarkshire Housing & Environmental Health had 'considerable questions to answer' in light of the case.
He commented: "As many will be aware, the sudden bank holiday has created various issues for many departments within the council since being announced last week however there is no excuse for emergencies such as this and reports of this nature not to be dealt with promptly by the authority.
"I have advised the tenant that it is my intention to take the matter up with officers immediately. A scheduled meeting this week will provide residents the opportunity to raise housing issues with both NLC Housing officials and Environmental Health representatives as well as receiving a progress report re the schedule of works."
A spokesperson for the council’s housing service added: “We attended the property and carried out works recommended by our environmental team.
"In addition, we attended a further call where an entry point was discovered within one of the exterior front steps at the four-in-a-block property. This was sealed up to prevent further activity.
“In the meantime we have attempted to make contact with the tenant and visited the property but have received no response.”
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
